Weird Prolapse Effects

Yes, I have all those same symptoms, except the vaginal bleeding. Even sciatica!! But I'm older, I don't have a toddler to chase around so I know you're having a "wonderful" time dealing with this.

The bright side... the rectocele and cystocele, I believe, are somewhat blocking the uterus from coming all the way out. Also, the uterus seemed to shrink up a bit with menopause, so I know that's a while to wait, but if you fear this will all "get worse" try not to fear that. I thought it would, things seemed to worsen significantly over a short period of time and I thought they'd continue but they haven't. Everything seems stable where it is now. More good news... the longer you deal with it the more accustomed to it you become, just management details, figuring out what works and what doesn't. For me the emotional side has improved tremendously.

The stool in the rectocele trying to "come out" the vagina is a lot of fun, isn't it? Ha ha ha ha ha. Yes it makes me feel horrible. It is very uncomfortable and can be painful. Now I know lots of fiber is good for you, but I find that too much can be bad. Too much fiber will build bulk, and more bulk is that much more to get out IF you aren't hydrated and it gets stony, you're in a bad spot. Also, fiber foods (raw veggies, fruits, beans, whole grains) give me terrible gas. Refined wheat is worse though, so I don't eat much bread. FOR ME, I have found that the best diet is sort of Atkins-like. Liberal fats (the good kind) as many fruits and vegetables as I can tolerate, but not the volume that would be a low-fat diet) and a good amount of lean animal protein. The fats I eat are not meat fats or processed oils; they are whole milk and cheese, avocado, olives, nuts, fish, and small amounts of yummy homemade desserts (yes I break the white four rule for that - I'm not going to die without enjoying those). But probably the biggest rule is severely limit white flour, that is deadly to my bowels. I think each individual must work out their own diet and what works for one may not work for another. If you're sick of eating all that fiber, try the high fat healthy foods I listed and see if they make you feel satisfied. Note if they make your bowel better or worse, and adjust accordingly.

The pain after sex can be eased with good lubricants during sex and paying attention to position. If all else fails, Vagisil is my friend. (Afterwards, not during, and only if the pain is the external tissues.)

These are just what I've tried that works, you and others may find different things work. Just hang in there and go with it, things will probably improve for you - not necessarily the tissues, but your adjustments and reactions, as life gets slower when you age, the effect this has on you just becomes easier, at least that is what I've found. So hang in there and be optimistic - things will get better.

I would support this tissue. Have you tried sea sponges or tampons for support?

I love Stonyfield Farms "cream on top" whole milk yogurt. Don't know if you can get that where you are. I eat it with a shaker of cinnamon and consume at least 1 tsp of cinnamon each day - they say it helps prevent diabetes.

Tampons are too drying I would think, and irritate tissues. I wouldn't wear them except for your period. I've tried the sponges myself and they are not that helpful for me, maybe because my prolapse is severe. They were not supportive, but if I still had periods I would use them as natural tampons, I did like them.

I have a pessary that is wonderful at times, but I can't wear it all the time. It does interfere with the rectocele or the rectocele interferes with it, however you look at it. I wear it for only a few hours or a couple of days, when I am feeling very heavy and just want relief. It gives me a break. But I prefer not to pass stool with it in (I can but sometimes have to juggle the stool around the ring. Sometimes the ring causes pain when stool is in my bowel. The good thing is the pessary seems to "push things up" for a while even after I remove it. Not ALL the way up mind you, just a few mm's. Sex does this too!!

There is no ONE solution to this. Pessary, diet, creams, positioning, exercises, adjustments in activities, sex, clothes, lots of things, all combined, work to make this better to live with. It all gets easier with time and I believe a much better alternative to the problems that come with surgery.

many health shops carry them, or you can get them online. they can gently support, and don't dry out as much as tampons so might help. I remember Christine suggesting two for someone with quite severe POPs to help with going to the toilet, if one wasn't enough....

I feel your pain. My rectocele is always about an inch past the opening. I have pelvic instability since I had my daughter 14 months ago and I have sacroiliac joint dysfunction. Add a cystocele and fallen uterus and it all adds up to fun. It would be a lot easier if there wasn't a toddler to chase around, an 11 year old to homeschool, and we weren't buying a new house and facing a move. I am also tired of having every meal have to be high in fiber, and a body can only enjoy so much water!

Now I am done whining! It helps to know other people are going through the same things. It helps me to remember this is not life threatening, just life altering. It really helps me to think that at 39 years old I should be eating a healthy diet anyway. It's not just good for my POPs, it's good for my overall health. I still manage to exercise and play with my kids. I find if I am really engaged with them I don't even think about my prolapse. I still have pity parties but they are becoming less. The truth is if I didn't have my prolapse I wouldn't have my kids and I wouldn't trade them for the world!

Now, the fact that I am starting to have symptoms of perimenopause...............that's a whole other ball of wax! I guess I'll just take it one day at a time.

I guess I don't really have any advice, I just wanted to say you are not alone.

Hi Shelleymum, I'm always harping on about the wonders of the sea sponge, I'm honestly not on commission.
They don't suit everyone but I wouldn't rule them out just because tampons don't do the trick, they're very different. I had to stop using a tampon during my period years ago because it would just sit on top of the rectocele and push it down. So I didn't have terribly high hopes of the sponge, but in fact it worked brilliantly. Because it's soft, it just curves around the bulges and stops that falling out feeling but it doesn't press on them. I bought the smallest size, mini, but there are 3 sizes for menstrual use and a super huge prolapse one (probably for uterine prolapse). Id definitely recommend giving it a go. Judith xxx

Hi Judith

I think Shelleymum will benefit from your comments. I am not a user of sea sponges or tampons, so who am I to comment? But I think it is important to not rule out any particular 'tool', as being ineffective, because all our bodies are slightly different from each other, and we each have different manifestations of POP.

This often changes over time too, and something that works one month/year does not work the next. The following year the first tool may work again, but for different reasons. This is because our bodies change cyclically by the month. We experience pregnancies and we birth our babies. We nurse our babies. We have the odd surgical procedure or invasive investigation. We sustain unrelated injuries that change the way we use our bodies. We are also on a long journey to the grave, hopefully via menopause! Our bodies are works in progress.

I would urge all Members to keep revisiting all the techniques and tools available to you and always keep an eye out for new things to try, and tell us about them, whether successful or not.

Some Members swear by particular tampons, used in particular ways.

I would love to hear back from the Members who have a go at making a beeswax pessary.

Cheers

Louise

You mean like the pop you get when you blow in an inside out rubber glove to get the fingers to pop out? Or maybe it is just a bit of air coming out of your vagina when you open the pelvic floor?

L

Hi Shellymum

Mmmm, I would say it is a repositioning of the urethra. I don't know what the consistency of the bladder is, where the urethra joins into it. All I know is that the bladder has rolled back over the urethra when you have POP. I would imagine that either the end of the urethra gets pushed up against the inside wall of the urethra, or more likely, the bladder is sitting on the urethra and squashes it flat down onto the pubic bone, then suddenly with the shifting around it frees itself, kind of like a flat firehose filling up and jumping up to its full round shape. It could even be folded over itself as well, for all we know. If you get unimpeded flow after a bit of a wriggle, I wouldn't worry about it, but make a note of what it is like, so if it changes you will have a record. I guess it is possible to get little polyps and things in the bladder or urethra, but I wouldn't worry about it unless it changes.

Weird things happen sometimes, and medicine seems to be very inflexible about describing organs as they examine them. You never see descriptions of organs from the point of view of the person who drives it, or what it feels like for the patient. The way an organ behaves is very subjective. Oh, the stories we could tell!

Louise

Have you tried olive oil on the tampon or sea sponge? I took that advice from someone on here and it made a huge difference. Also I had the issue of it being hard to remove because it gets stuck where the cystocele or rectocele are and now I do nauli and it comes right out very easily.